Yes, 'technology' is a big word to use. But it's the truth. I made ice blocks with children, challenging them to guess how long it would take for the runny juice to turn into chilly ice blocks. Some children made a wild guess of an hour or a few minutes. The ones who, probably, had previous experiences said it would take ages, and they made sure I would put the ice block tray in the coldest part of the fridge, i.e. the freezer. Making food does involve science concepts like the forms of liquid and solid; the use of technology, which is the freezer to create a freezing cold environment to create the solid hard ice blocks; and scientific methods, namely, making hypothesis, testing it out, observing results and modifying the theory accordingly.
The most popular cooking activity with children is baking. Children will witness the properties of ingredients changing during the baking process. The cake rises (hopefully), the butter melts, the sugar dissolves...Even simple thing like using a pizza oven and waffle maker would bring joy and make meaningful learning happen.
Enjoy cooking with children!
P.S. children develop social skills, literacy and numeracy knowledge during interaction with adults and peers when cooking. But there is something to be aware of. Read this ECRP article for insights.
